Chemical Reactions
by TheDoctorsCompanion13
Summary: Tony tries to show Bruce that he deserves to be loved just like everyone else.


When Tony finally found Bruce, he could tell that he was in one of his moods. The air of darkness around him managed to suck what little life there was out of the room. He sat cross-legged on the bed in one of the guest rooms where he thought no one would go looking for him. His glasses were folded up beside him and, even though he tried to hide it by turning away, Tony could see the light red blotches and puffiness around his eyes.

Tony stood in the doorway for a minute or so, both shocked and unsure as to what he was supposed to do. It was a delicate situation, he knew, dealing with someone who was self-destructive. He tried to steal a step forward but Bruce held his arm out in a signal for him to stop.

"Tony, please," he pleaded in a rough, cracked voice. He cleared his throat to rid it of the audible sadness. "I'll be down in a minute."

"I'm hard to will away, just ask Pepper."

He stepped a little into the room, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the wall beside the door frame. The light from the arc reactor, positioned just above his crossed arms, bathed the immediate area in a light blue glow. He kept looking from Bruce to down at his own arms, trying to think of what to say. That's what he found funny about the whole situation. He always knew what to say.

"Whatever you have to say, I don't need your words of wisdom," Bruce said, keeping his head down as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What wisdom? I'm a genius. I never said I was wise."

An involuntary laugh burst from Bruce's chest, causing Tony to half smile. His arms fell to his sides as he walked over to the bed, plopping down on Bruce's left despite the protests he made under his breath. He held out his right hand, palm up, and stayed in that position until Bruce noticed. When he did, he looked down at the offering and shook his head.

"Tony—"

"Bruuuuuuce," Tony whined. "As much as my pride is one of my best features, I'm not too proud to use puppy eyes."

"I can't do this with you. I can't be in a relationship. You know that."

Shamelessly, Tony turned to Bruce and broke out his secret weapon of his wide, sad, innocent eyes while holding out his hand even further.

Bruce huffed but finally conceded, lacing his fingers with Tony's. "You're such a child."

"I'll stop doing it when it stops working."

"What do you want, Tony?" he asked, still gripping his hand. "Why are you here?"

"You. It's always you. You're what I want. You're why I'm here."

Tony felt no hesitation in saying it because he knew it to be true but Bruce had a harder time accepting it. He felt like he didn't deserve to be loved and that was where he and Tony were so alike. However, after many years of self-loathing and feeling unworthy, Tony was starting to believe that he did deserve happiness. He just needed Bruce to do the same.

"Is this going to turn into a RomCom moment because I don't think I've seen enough of them to know what to say next," Bruce said, looking at Tony with a small smile.

Tony laughed. "I'm being completely serious. Just let me have my moment, okay? I still have more to say."

"We've known each other for several months now and I have yet to hear you stop talking. I'm pretty sure you've even managed to steal the show in my dreams once or twice."

Tony raised his eyebrows as a smirk spread across his face. "Good to know you dream about me."

"Shut up. Say what you need to say."

Tony shrugged and moved around Bruce so that he was lying down on the bed behind him. Bruce turned to his right to see him resting with his head on the pillow and his arms outstretched to him.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked.

"We're going full RomCom," he replied, beckoning Bruce to lay with him.

Bruce sighed and ran a hand through his dark, curly hair. Unfortunately, Tony was on the brink of puppy eyes again so he felt forced to move his glasses somewhere safe and lay down. He turned so that they were both lying on their sides, facing each other. Tony grabbed Bruce's left hand with his right and did the same with their free hands. They were silent for a few moments, just looking one another in the eye, until Bruce broke it.

"This is ridiculous."

"Shh. Just feel the moment," Tony replied, continuing to stare. "Do you feel it?"

"For the purpose of continuing this conversation, I'll say yes."

"Good. Now, what I need you to do is simple. I need you to accept my love."

"Tony," Bruce started, moving as if to get up but Tony stopped him.

"Will you just listen to me? Please?" he asked, suddenly becoming serious. Bruce stopped moving, giving in to him. "I know what you're thinking because every thought crossing your mind has crossed mine at one point or another."

"How can you possibly say that? You're Tony Stark. You're the success story."

A moment of anger flashed across Tony's face but dissipated quickly. "How many times have we had this fight? You're alive and you're in control. You found your family here with us. If I'm a success, so are you. I know you want to die sometimes."

Bruce looked away from him but Tony released one of his hands to pull Bruce's gaze back to him, resting his hand on his cheek. "I know. I've thought about it before too. I just want you to know that if you ever succeed, no limitation of science will stop me from bringing you back."

Bruce gave a short, sad laugh. "But you know it'll never work."

"And I thank the Other Guy every day for that. I love you, Bruce. And I love him too, even though I'm sure he appreciates it a lot less."

The first genuine smile of the night spread across Bruce's face at Tony's words. With his free hand, he grabbed the black cotton collar of Tony's shirt and pulled him in for a soft, gracious kiss. Tony leaned into it, moving his hand from Bruce's cheek to his hair. After a few seconds, he had to make himself pull away.

"We should go downstairs. The rest of the Avengers are waiting for us. We're going out for shawarma."

"Again?"

"Face it, Bruce. It's a tradition now. It's never going away."

Bruce laughed and let go of Tony so he could sit up and put on his glasses. Tony, still lying down, held out his hand as Bruce stood and made him pull him up off the bed. Hand-in-hand, they both left the room to rejoin the rest of their team.

"I love you too, Tony," Bruce said softly.

Tony smiled. "Who doesn't?"


End file.
